Clothesline splicer and tightener



F. VAN ALSTINE CLOTHESLINE SPLICER AND TIGHTENER Jan. 19-, 1926. 1,570,291

Filed March 5, 1925 INVENTOR 3 Frank Vain Ala-fine ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 19, 1926.

UNITED STATES FRANK VAN ALSTINE, 0F SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA.

CLOTHESLINE SPLICER AND TIGHTENER.

Application filed March 3, 1925. Serial No. 12,815.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK VAN ALs'rINE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sacramento, county of Sacramento, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothesline Splicers and Tighteners; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this application.

This invention relates to improvements in devices to be applied to clothes lines, preferably those of the wire type commonly used for splicing the ends of the line together and for tightening the line as a whole.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a device of this character so constructed as to not only serve as a splicer between two ends of the line but as a means for enabling any desired tension of the line to be then easily obtained and altered whenever desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device for the purpose which without change may be used to tighten a line already spliced and in position without disconnecting or interfering in any way with the original splice.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character having means provided thereon for engaging the line such that a splice or a tightening operation may be carried out without the need of any tools in connection with the job.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the device employed as a splicing means between two ends of a line, shown prior to the tightening operation.

Fig. 2 is a similar view after the line is tightened.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the opposite face of the device showing the splicing connections.

Fig. 4 1s a perspective view of the device employed as a tightener on a line already hooks 4 facing away from the. holes and preferably formed by stamping and pressing V the same from the plate Imaterial.

Located in the plate between the hooks and intermediate thehooks andholes on the same side of the plate as said hooks dis a transversely disposed member 5 projecting outwardly from the plate on that side and formed therefrom in the same manner as said hooks. The member 5 is notched on the sides as shown in Fig. 3 to form supporting cradles for the ends of the line, whichafter being passed through the .holes are placed about the corresponding hooks and then bent to lie in the corresponding notches of the member 5 terminating just beyond the latter.

By reason of this construction an opposed pull on the line sections will merely cause the hooks to engage the line tightly and prevent any slippage and the greater the pull the greater will be the binding effect of the hooks on the line.

Projecting outwardly from the plate adjacent the holes on the opposite side thereof from the hooks is a cleat 6 of the form commonly employed in connection with rope belaying.

If the splice is made as above stated and the plate is then turned it will be evident that the line sections extending to the holes from both ends of the plate will be wound about the shank of the cleat, enabling the line to be tightened to any extent desired. depending of course on the number of turns given the plate, and the consequent number of wraps of the line about the cleat.

The plate may be turned in any desired manner to effect this result.

In the present instance I have shown an ear 7 formed with the plate at the end thereof opposite the cleat and bent parallel to the plate, orifices 8 being drilled through the plate and ear through which a pin such as a nail 9 may be removably passed to serve as a handle for turning purposes.

To prevent the plate from then turning backwards when the hand pressure on the plate is removed I provide a friction hook 10 on the same side of the plate as the cleat and located between the cleat and the end of the plate opposite the holes 2. This hook is disposed at right angles to the longitudinal plane of the plate and faces in that direction toward which the plate 1 tends to retractively rotate.

hen the line is tightened the portion thereof adjacent the hook is caught under the same as shown in Fig. 2, thus of course positively preventing the retractive rotation of the plate. This hook also when thus engaged with the line prevents the plate from any tendency to swing away from the line. At the same time if it is desired to loosen or further tighten the line the latter may be easily disengaged from said hook.

To enable the device to be used for tightening the line already up and spliced, the cleat is provided with a centrally located transverse slot 11 of a width sufficient to receive the line therein. This provides for the initial engagement of the line so as to cause the latter to wind around the shank of the cleat without splicing when the plate is turned as shown in Fig. 4. In this case the holes 2 and the hooks a are not used, the

line running straight across the plate on the face thereof on which the cleat is located.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the presentand preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A clothes line splicer and tightener comprising a body member, means on said body for securing the ends of a line thereto, the body having orifices through which the line sections pass to reach the endsecuring means, and a cleat projecting outwardly from the body adjacent the orifices and on the side thereof opposite to the securnieans.

2. A clothes line splicer and tightener comprising a flat body member having a pair of orifices therethrough through which the ends of a line are passed from one side of the plate, friction hooks on the other side of the plate facing away from the holes and with which the line sections are passed, and means on the plate beyond the hooks for en ging the line sections to cause them to be maintained in engagement with the hooks when an opposed pressure is placed on the line sections beyond the plate.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature.

FRANK VAN ALSTINE. 

